Refrigeration



Nov. 28, 1939.

A. G. GR OSS REFRIGERATION Filed Feb. 3, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Alfred 6 Gross ATTORNEY A. G. GROSS REFRIGERATION Nov. 28, 1939.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5, 1938 Alfred 6. Gross ATTORN EY Fly. 5

Patented Nov. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE REFRIGERATION G. Gross, Chicago, Ill., asslgnor to The, Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a. corporation of Ohio Application February 3, 1938, Serial No. 188,412

1'1 Claims. (Cl. 62-1085) This invention relates to mechanical refrigerators and particularly to apparatus for making clear ice cubes.

The ice cubes formed in household mechanical refrigerators are not satisfactory because the -ice is foggy in appearance due to the occluded gases, creating the impression that the ice cubes are unsanitary.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide apparatus for making clear ice cubes.

Another object of my invention is to provide means 'for forcing refrigerated air through the contents of a refrigerator tray to remove the air or occluded gases from the contents, as the latter freezes. is toprovide means air through the contents 0 Another object of the invention for interrupting the flow of f the refrigerator tray force air through the co ntents of a tray. A

further object is to provide a new and improved refrigerator tray. Other obj ects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the speciflcation and drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a cabinet showing the arrangement refrigerator therein of one embodiment of my invention for forcing air through the'contents of an ice tray Fig. 2 is a fragmentary apparatus for forcing air of any ice tray;

enlarged view of 'the' through the contents Fig. 3illustratesanother'embodiment of the invention showing the compressor of the refrigerator unit adapted to be connected to the ice tray;

Fig. 4 illustrates still another embodiment of the invention wherein the vibration of the refrigerator unit is employe'dto force air through the contents of the ice tray; and

'5 is an enlarged sectional I phragm pump operated by the vibration ofnthe Fig;

refrigerator unit *to force tents of the ice' tray.

The embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 comprises having'a top" wall the invention: :shown ll], a door view of a diaair through 1 the con- "a' refrigerator cabinet II, .a rear wall; lg'm and'a cabinet flue 13:" Suitablymounted in the cabinet is an evaporator formed from coiled de a plurality of horifrigeratedair-through zontally spaced straight pipe portions 16, on which-are mounted shelves l1 for the reception of refrigerator trays 18. The evaporator I4 is enclosed in a housing 19 having a top wall 20, side walls 21, a bottom wall 22, a rear wall 23, and a door 24. Disposed beneath the evaporator is a drip pan 25.

The ice tray I 9 comprises a pair of side walls a 26, a rear wall 21 and a bottom wall 29. Welded or otherwise securedto the inner surface of the bottom wall 29 is a plate 39 provided with a pinrality of parallel raised'corrugations 3| which extend substantially throughout the length of the ice tray l8 and cooperate with the bottom plate 29 to form passageways 32 for refrigerated air. The inner plate 30 extends from the front end of the ice tray rearwardly to a point spaced from the rear wall 21 and then projects upwardly in spaced parallel relation with respect to the rear wall 21 to the upper defining edge thereof to form a chamber 35 which communicates with all the passageways 32. Removably disposed in the ice tray I8 is a grid 36 to provide a plurality of ice cube chambers 31 for forming individual ice cubes. It will be noted that the corrugations 3| are provided with a plurality of openings 38, each opening communicating with an ice cube chamber 31. Extending from the rear wall 21 of the ice tray is a hollow connecting element 40 which is tapered for engagement with a complementary flared connecting element 4| mounted in the rear wall 23 of the evaporator in engagement with the walLof the cylinder, and 5 which are rotated by a motordisposed in a hous ing '48.; As shown in Figure 1 the pump and motorare connected together as ;a;- unit and are imountedon the rear wall ofthe cabinet in the 41 of the pump 46 ;suck re- .50

fiue i3. The vanes a tube 49 having its inlet-=-54,-, disposed in the refrigerator cabinet at; the rear ofthe evaporator. In-the operation of the pump or fan 46 refrigerated air is drawn from the refrigerator In order to insure alignment between the cabinet through the tube 49 and forced through the tube into the chamber 35 from whence the air is distributed through the passageways 32 and discharged through the openings 38 into 'each ice cube chamber 31, the escaping refrigerated air agitating the water in the ice tray removing the occluded gases therein to provide clear ice cubes.

In order to control the flow of the refrigerated air through the ice tray I have provided a control mechanism comprising a thermostatic device including a bulb 58 disposed in the evaporator where it is responsive to the temperatures in the evaporator. This device includes a temperature responsive fluid which actuates a flexible bellows 5|, to move a contact 52 into and out of engagement with a contact 53 to complete a circuit to the motor 48. I

The wiring diagram for the control circuit comprises a conductor 55 leading from the relatively stationary contact 53 to a conductor 56 connected to the refrigerator unit, which may be an absorption system not shown, and also to a control box 51 mounted on top of the evaporator housing I9, a conductor 58 extends from the control box 51 to a source of current, and connected to the other contact 52 is a conductor 68 leading to the motor 48 from which a lead 6| extends to a conductor 62 connected to the refrigerator unit and the source of current. The refrigerator unit may be either of the absorption or compressor type.

In operation, assume that the ice tray I8 is filled with water and properly positioned on the evaporator shelf I1. The thermostatic bulb 58 reacts to the high temperature of the water in the ice tray and actuates the flexible bellows 5| to close the contacts 52 and 53 which closes the circuit to the motor 48 causing the pump 46 to rotate the vanes 41 which suck refrigerated air from the cabinet through the inlet 64 of the tube 49 and forces the refrigerated air through the conduit 45, thence through ,the connections 4| and 48 into the chamber 35of the ice cube tray I8. Due to'the pressure created by the vanes 41 of the pump 46 the refrigerated air is forced through the passageways 32 and discharged through the openings 38 into the ice cube chambers 31. The refrigerated air then passes upwardly througlrthe water in the ice cube chambers 31 and causes the occluded gases or air bubbles to rise to the surface of the water and are discharged into the atmosphere, whereby ice cubes are formed that are clear in app arance. When the water has frozen, the thermostatic bulb 58 will operate to deflate the bellows 5| to thereby break the switch contacts 52. .and 53 and interrupt thecircuit to the-motor 48. Accordingly the pump 48 will not operate to force air through the ice' cubes after the water has frozen.

Another method of 'forcing refrigerated air through the water in the ice, tray, I8 is shown in Figure 3 and comprises a refrigerator cabinet 18 mounted on a base 1|. A compressor type of refrigerator unit is mounted on a platform 13 which is resiliently supported by means of springs 14 suspended from brackets 12 disposed at the four corners of the cabinet. The refrigerator unit comprises a motor 15 which may be provided with a fan for cooling a condenser 16, a compressor 11 and a liquid receiver 18. The compressor includes a cylinder 19, piston 8| and crank case 88 ha ing an inlet 93. A discharge check valve is provided in the cylinder 19 and an intake valve 82 in the piston 8|. 0n the down stroke the piston travels against the pressure of gas in the crank case, and the piston valve 82 opens, permitting gas to flow above the piston 8|, while on the up-stroke this valve closesand the gas is compressed and forced out through the check valve 85 into a conduit 86 to the condenser 16. The compressor is connected with an evaporator, for example the one shown in Figure 1, by means of a conduit 89 connected with the pipe 98 of the evaporator I4, and a conduit 9| extends from tube 92 of the evaporator I4 to the inlet 93 of the compressor crankcase.

In order to force air through the water in the ice tray I8 a flexible bellows 94 is secured ex teriorly of the crank case 88 and coxmnunicates through an opening 96 with the interior of the crank case. A housing is disposed in spaced relation about the flexible bellows 94 to form a chamber 91 and is provided with a check valve 98to control the communication of the chamber 3 91 with the atmosphere, and another check valve 99 to control communication of the chamber 91 with a conduit IN. This conduit extends upwardly to the connecting element 4| of the evaporator housing I9 for communication with the passageways 32 in the ice tray I8. Disposed in the conduit |8I is a safety valve I82 to allow air to escape if the compressor operates after the water in the ice tray I8 has frozen.

In the operation of this embodiment, the compressor 11 is operated by the motor 15, the compressor forcing refrigerant such as sulphur dioxide through the conduit 86 to the condenser 16 wherein the refrigerant is condensed and passes through the conduit 81 into the liquid receiver 8 18.' From the receiver 18 the refrigerant passes by means of the pipe 89 up to the pipe 98 of the evaporator I4 where it performs its refrigerating effect in the well known manner and the vaporized refrigerant then passes down through the pipe 9| into the compressor crankcase 88.

During the operation of the compressor 11 the pressure of the vapor refrigerant in the crankcase 88 is constantly changing and it is the purpose of my invention to utilize this constantly changing pressure to operate the flexible bellows 94 and force air into the ice tray I8. Since the pressure of the refrigerant vapor in the crank case 88 is constantly changing it will reciprocate the flexible bellows 94 and when the flexible bellows 94 is relatively deflated the valve 98 will open the port I88 whereby air will pass from the atmosphere into the chamber 91, and when the flexible bellows 94 is inflated it will open the valve 99 and force the air from the chamber 91 chamber 31 to force the occluded gases out of the water and thereby produce clear ice. If the compressor 11 continues to operate after the ice is frozen, the pressure of the air in the conduit I8I will build up to such an extent to operate the safety valve I82 and release the pressure of the air in the pipe I8I, so that the air does not pass into the ice cube chambers 31 The temperature of the flexible bellows 94 is relatively low due to the cold gases in the crankcase 88, and accordingly the air pumped into the ice tray will be relatively cold since the bellows contacts the air in the chamber 91 prior to pumping the air into the ice tray I8. If desired, the port I 88 in the housing 95 may be connected by a conduit to the cabinet to supply refrigerated air to the chamber 91 and then to the ice tray I8.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 4 and 5, and includes a refrigerator unit similar to that described in connection with Figure 3. In this modification I employ the vibration of the platform 13 'caused, by the operation of the refrigerator unit, to operate a dia- I phragm to pump air through the ice cubetray I8. Interposed between the platform I3 and the base II of the refrigerator cabinet is a diaphragm pump having a housing comprising lower and upper sections I and'l08, respectively, secured together by means of rivets I01. Interposed between the housing sections I05 and I08 is a flexible diaphragm I 08 forming with the housing,

chambers I09 and H0. The chamber I09 is provided with a check valve I I2 which controls communication to a pipe I I3 extending upwardly through the cabinet and terminating interiorly' of the cabinet adjacent the evaporator for conveying refrigerated air from the cabinet, the check valve II2 permitting the refrigerated air to pass from the refrigerator into the chamber I09. Another check valve II4 permits one-way communication from the chamber I09 through phragm I08 is a vertically extending rod II'I disposed in a sleeve bearing I I8 carried by the upper casing I06, and the rod H1 is provided at its upper end with a cup shaped container I I9 for the reception of the ball I20 which rotatably engages the platform I3. Disposed about the rod I I1 and. interposed between the cup H9 and the bearing H8 is a spring I2I which at all times urges the ball I20 into engagement with the platform I3.

In the operation of this embodiment assume that the ice tray is filled'withwater andthe refrigerator unit is operating. Operation of the refrigerator unit causes the platform 13 to vibrate and due to the springs" 14 this vibration is transmitted to the loose joint comprising the ball I20 and rod II1 to the diaphragm I08, with the result that the diaphragm I08 is vibrated. Upon the upstroke of the diaphragm I08 refrigerated air will be drawn through the conduit II3 from the cabinet into the chamber I09. Upon the downward stroke of the diaphragm the refrigerated air is forced from the chamber I09 through the conduit H5 into the chamber 35 of the ice tray I8, and thence through the passageways 32 and is discharged through the openings'38 into' the ice cube chambers 31. Thus the occluded I gases are forced out of. the water while the latter is freezing to provide clear ice. If the refrigerator unit continues operating after the .water is frozen, the air that is being forced through the conduit I I 5 escapes through the safety valve I15.

Although I have described my invention in connection with an ice cube tray, it is obvious thatit is not necessary to only freeze water in the tray but my invention may be employed inconnection with any liquid or food that should be aerated during the preparation of the same.

Other means than those disclosed may be employed for forcing fluid through the contents of the contents of the tray. The contents of the ice tray may be agitated by a relatively large devices producing the air pressure in the system.

It will be noted that the air discharged into the clear ice tray is refrigerated, in fact, it is refrigerated prior to initially entering the system adjacent the evaporator. Accordingly, the refrigerated air is dry prior to entering the system and will not condense in the system and adhere to the tubes to obstruct the flow of air in the latter, however, air other than refrigerated air may be employed in the system.

While I have illustrated and described several embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these embodiments are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the structures shown but to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator, a cooling unit, an ice tray removably disposed in heat transfer relationship with said cooling unit, means in said tray providing a passageway for fluid to the contents of said tray, and pumping means communicating with said passageway and with the interior of said refrigerator, said pumping means operating to remove refrigerated air from said refrigerator and to force the same through said passageway 1 into the contents of said tray to remove occluded gases from water being frozen therein.

2. In a refrigerator, a tray removably disposed in said refrigerator, a refrigerator compressor, means responsive to the'changes in pressure in the crankcase of said compressor for forcing fluid into the contents of said tray to agitate said conents. I

3; In a refrigerator, a tray removably disposed in said refrigerator, means in said tray providing a passageway for fluid to the contents of said tray, a refrigerator compressor, and meansresponsive to the changes in pressure inthe crankcase of said compressor for forcing fluidthrough said passagewayinto the contents of said tray.

4.,In a' refrigerator, a tray removably in said refrigerator, means in said tray providing a passageway for fluid to the contents of said tray, a refrigerator compressor, and flexible means responsive to the changes in pressure in the crank-case,of said compressor for forcing fluid through said passageway into the contents of sai'dxtray.

5. In a refrigerator, 9. tray removably disposed in said refrigerator, a resiliently supported refrigerating unit, and pump means operated by the vibration of said refrigerating unit for forcing fluid into the contents of said tray.

6. In a refrigerator, a "tray removably disposed in said refrigerator, a resiliently mounted refrigerating unit, a diaphragmpump operated by the vibration of said unit for forcing fluid into the contents of said' tray.

7. A tray for a refrigerator, comprising bottom and side walls, means disposed in said tray and the contents of said tray, and connection means communicating with said passageway and adapted to be connected with a source of said fluid.

8. In a refrigerator, a tray removably disposed in said refrigerator, means for forcing fluid into the contents of said tray to agitate said contents, and control means responsive to the temperature of said contents for operating said fluid forcing means.

9. Ice making apparatus for domestic refrigerating systems comprising. a tray, a liner element mounted within said tray to form a sealed compartment with one wall thereof, a plurality of upstanding channels in said liner cooperating with said tray to form passageways communicating with said compartment, a grid within said tray forming a plurality of freezing chambers, and openings in said'passageways communicating each of said chambers with one-of said passageways. I

10. Ice making apparatus comprising a tray, a grid within said tray to provide a plurality of ice moulds, a liner element mounted within said tray to provide an air chamber, means communicating each of the ice moulds formed by said grid with said air chamber, means to refrigerate said tray, and means for supplying air under pressure to said chamber.

11. A liner element for domestic ice trays comprising a wall element having a flange on one end thereof adapted to cooperate with an upstanding wall of said tray to define a sealed air chamber therewith, a foot plate on said liner element having a plurality of passageways therein adapted to rest on the bottom of a tray and to communicate with the air chamber, and a plurality of upwardly facing openings in each of said passageways.

12. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, a power operated cooling medium supply unit operatively connected to said cooling unit, an ice tray mounted in said cooling unit, and means operated by unbalanced forces produced in the operation of said poweroperated unit for agitating the contents of said tray to remove occluded gases therefrom.

13. Refrigerating apparatus comprising a cooling unit, a power operated cooling medium supply unit operatively connected to said cooling unit, an ice tray mounted in said cooling unit, means for agitating the contents of said tray, means for controlling said cooling unit in response to refrigerating demand, said agitating means being connected to be energized and deenergized by said control means, and means responsive to the thermal condition of said tray for allowing or preventing energization of said agitating means by said control means.

14. In a refrigerator, a freezing chamber, a tray removably disposed in said chamber, means in said tray providing a passageway for fluid to the contents of said tray, means in said chamber connected with a source of said fluid, and two part connection means having complementary engageable surfaces for connecting said traymeans responsive to the condition of the contents of said container for regulating the operation of said air-forcing means.

16. Ice making apparatus for domestic refrigerating systems comprising a tray, a removable grid within said tray forming a plurality of ice freezing chambers, and means cooperating with a wall of said tray for forming an air duct therewith, means providing communication between said duct and said freezing chambers, and means for supplying air under pressure to said duct.

17. Ice making apparatus for domestic refrigerating systems comprising a tray, a removable grid within said tray forming a plurality of ice freezing chambers, a liner plate cooperating with a wall of said tray to form an air space, means providing for communication between said air space and each of said freezing chambers, and means for supplying agitating air to said air space under sufiicient pressure to cause theair to bubble through water being frozen in said freezing chambers.

ALFRED G. GROSS. 

